Residents oppose Oak Park water tower

By Daniel Wolowiczdanielw@theacorn.com

During last week’s Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting, Oak Park residents angered by Triunfo Sanitation District’s recent proposal to raze the water tank above Conifer Street and build a larger tank in the Palo Comado Canyon expressed their frustration with Triunfo’s handling of the issue.

The Oak Park Coalition, an ad hoc committee of community members, was frustrated because the members felt Triunfo had not fully explained why the Palo Camado site, above Doubletree Street, was selected for the new tank.

As a representative of the group, Jim Kalember presented a slide show that detailed the location for the new tank and the possible environmental impacts it would have. Kalember said his group, which supports planned open space in the Conejo Valley, wants to know why this proposal was being “forced” on the community by Triunfo.

“This process has not even come close to living up to our standards,” Kalember said during his presentation. “We need some community consensus, which we don’t have right now.”

Kalember asked the MAC to help local residents voice their concerns about the project.

Linda Parks, a Ventura County board member, reminded those in attendance that the MAC has no official power over Triunfo. Parks said the MAC can only “make comment on the notice of preparation.”

Parks and Ron Stark, a MAC board member, are members of the Triunfo board.

In essence, the MAC can only collect questions about the proposal from citizens or their own board members and present those questions to Triunfo.

The questions and concerns are then addressed by Boyle Engineering Corp. and Padre Associates, Inc., the engineering and environmental firms hired by Triunfo to help with the tank proposal.

Dennis Gillette, a Triunfo board member, said because of the miscommunication, it’s likely the Triunfo board will launch a new resident advisory committee comprised to look at the current site proposal and its alternatives.

Gillette said the board has not determined who will be on the committee, but he added the committee will have full access to all information provided by Boyle Engineering and Padre Associates.

The goal, according to Gillette, is to allow residents a chance to help determine the location for the new tank. Part of that process will include a review of the Palo Comado location. Once a site has been decided, Triunfo will then develop an environmental impact report for that plan.

Kalember supports Gillette’s proposal.

For nearly a decade, water officials have said the 35-year-old water tank above Conifer is unsafe because it’s deteriorating. A geological survey of the Conifer site in the late 1990s also showed the tank may slide down the hill if the area was hit by a sizable earthquake.

The water is intended to be an emergency reserve for Oak Park if the flow of water from Northern California is disrupted.

The reserve capacity of the tank is also an issue. To better meet reserve and fire code standards, Triunfo wants to build a new 2.1million gallon tank, which would be twice the size of the Conifer tank.

The Triunfo Sanitation District will hold its next board meeting at 5:15 p.m. Mon., July 25 in the Oak Park Library.